Page 114 of Hendrix

“Blade and Colt will sort the teams as we ride. As soon as Diablo gets what he needs for us, we rescue Anna as one unit. If Ace or Daisy rear their heads, mine, Iceman’s, and Gambit’s team will go after them. You see to Anna with Gopher as backup. Picasso’s team will ride home with you at your six for protection.”

I nodded as I threw the passenger door to the GMC open, slid inside, and wound my window down. “This is war, Blade,” I called toward the steps where my VP stood, glaring at Tweety as Pyro dragged him inside. “If they’ve hurt her, I’m goin’ down to Ace’s HQ, and I’m gonna blow it to smithereens with all those fuckers in it.”

“I feel ya, brother,” he called back. “And I vow to you. If they’ve harmed a hair on our girl’s head, I’ll build the fuckin’ bomb myself, grab Pyro, and we’ll work as a trio.” He gave me a loose salute before turning and following Diablo, Dad, Colt, Pyro, and a fucked-up Tweety into the hotel.

“She’ll be okay, Prez,” Gopher told me reassuringly as he clicked his seat belt into place. “Anna will be in good hands with me. I won’t let you down. Got a lotta love for your woman. She’s kind and funny, and she makes sure I’m eating, and I get enough rest. My ma worries, ya know? And Anna talks to her on the phone and calms her nerves.”

“My Anna’s beautiful inside and out, Gopher,” I muttered, throwing him a glance. “Why don’t you move your ma up from Texas?”

He started the truck and put his foot on the gas. “Money. My dad left her in debt. I’m helping her pay it off. As soon as she’s straight, I’ll find her somewhere.”

My brow furrowed. “You should’ve come to me, Prospect. I can help you out.”

“All due respect, Prez. I’d feel better sorting it myself. Got about six months left, and then we’ll be home free. You don’t need to worry about me, I’m a grown-ass man, and I’ll take responsibility for my mom. You concentrate on Anna ‘cause she’ll need all you’ve got to give her after today. Never trusted Daisy, never knew Ace, though I’ve heard all the stories about the asshole.”

My heart began to race at the thought of my ol’ lady and the shit they could’ve done to her. They’d been gone about three hours, and I knew as well as anyone that anything could’ve happened during that time.

Over the years, she’d always been in the back of my mind, haunting me.

My heart always told me we’d be together again one day, and it was right. But what if I was about to lose her again? What if Ace and Daisy had done irreparable damage to her and our boy?

After what I’d seen and witnessed in the military, not much in life frightened me, but the thought of a world without Anna was terrifying. There was no meaning to anything without her. If the unthinkable happened to her or my kid, my life would be over.

My guts scalded with a sense of fury, and I pulled my Glock out, checking it was locked and loaded. If they’d touched a hair on Anna’s head, I’d blow their faces off.

My thoughts went back to the night I first had her, the same night she became mine. She was so open and honest, so fucking vulnerable. She gave me her heart and soul in that bar, and then later, she gave me everything else, and despite time, distance, and other women, I’d never given it back.

How did I screw everything up so badly?

I jumped in my seat as a call came through on the Apple Car Play system. My eyes jerked toward it to see Blade’s name flash up.

Clicking the answer button on the screen, I barked, “Yo.”

“Well, that didn’t take long,” my VP drawled. “Daisy’s got Anna holed up at your aunt’s old house down by the river.”

I scraped a hand down my face. “Fuck!”

“On it,” Gopher muttered, screeching the brakes on and turning in the road. The rumble of bike engines filled the air as my brothers did the same as us and turned their rides around. The dirt track leading to the section of the river where my aunt and uncle lived was about a mile back. I reckoned we’d be there within minutes.

With a pounding heart, I demanded, “Thought the car was seen heading into town?”

“It was,” Blade muttered. “He drove up there to put us off his scent. He was always gonna drive up there, then hide out for a while and take Anna back to the house. Unlucky for him, a deer ran into the road. He swerved to avoid it and fuckin’ crashed, which left them without getaway wheels. That’s why he was out hotwiring a car when your dad found him.”

“Fuckin’ useless idiot,” I spat.

“Yeah,” Blade agreed. “And now Diablo’s fuckin’ furious ‘cause he only got halfway through one pinky before Tweety ratted himself out and fainted. D took the finger anyway for one of his jars, but he really wanted to—and I quote—chop a cock.”

“Jesus.” I shook my head. “He’s getting obsessed.”

“Daisy’s been spying for Ace since he left the club,” Blade informed me. “It’s how he knew about your woman and the baby. Sorry, brother.”

I sighed resignedly. “Nothing I hadn’t expected.”

“Fill you in on the rest when you get back. Good luck with Anna. Keep me posted. Over and out.”

The line went dead.

“We’re nearly there,” Gopher pointed out, nodding further up the road toward the turning we needed to hit the track that took us to the house.

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